Rev. Dr. Diane Bridges on developing new synergies – again

Reporting Relationships – Here We Go Again

Over the past twenty years in healthcare ministry my reporting relationship in two healthcare centres has changed at least seven times. The spectre of services “sitting at the table” has included Security, Public Relations, Volunteer Services, Housekeeping and Maintenance, Food Services, and Diversity, to name a few.

While Spiritual & Religious Care is considered to be an essential part of the healthcare team, and because we are not as yet a regulated healthcare provider, it is challenging in the scheme of things to find the best “fit” within the organization.

I recently spent an afternoon in focused discussion with colleagues as we found ourselves in a new reporting relationship to a senior administrator. The challenge was to dig deeply and sincerely in order to discover and begin to develop new synergies that would impact the overall operational wellness of the organization as well as patient-centered care itself.

We met without formal structure, other than an invitation to speak about what was most important to us in the work that we were doing and what impact we thought we might be having. While this may have become a litany of goals & objectives from motivated service providers it actually became an opportunity to realize in a deep sense “the sacred and the holy” place from which all of us were coming and where this might take us together in the future.

The sincere care with which each person described the experience of wanting to make a difference in people’s lives – when most vulnerable and afraid – became the source of energy that carried us right through the afternoon. It wasn’t so much the mechanics of what we did (aligning operational strategies, etc.), as it was realizing that many exciting opportunities for working together as a motivated “team” were being developed as we spoke – and this did not mean striking any new committees! For example, Patient Relations could identify underlying bereavement issues when families were struggling with anger often projected at staff regarding clinical care of their family, when the real issues were often of a more spiritual nature. Spiritual Care could be reassuring to families, when sincere efforts at communication with healthcare providers seemed to be failing, while Patient Relations could offer mediation and helpful chart review. Ethics could be proactive in discerning the cause of underlying fears when patients and families were “stuck” in times of critical decision-making processes. Often these might be gently approached in conjunction with chaplaincy services. Issues might be of a theological nature or have to do with unresolved matters of the heart and soul. Chaplaincy also could direct families and patients to Ethics staff who could help to clarify issues and provide skills for necessary decision-making processes.

All of us could serve to provide assurances of confidentiality and one on one complementary approaches to problem solving and team building. We realized how easy it could become to continue to lean toward our individual professional sides, rather than to work toward providing dynamic and strong team leadership to the organization as a whole. We needed to think about and support the services we provided in more synergistic ways. We even imagined including each other as integral players in our “awareness weeks.” Imagine the possibilities – the celebrations, the community outreach and the impact we could have in our united front for patients and families – all in the awareness of servant leadership.

We are setting out once again on another journey of discovery – more team building, more commitment, more accountability. We were surprised at how much energy that Friday afternoon engendered!

Will we ever get reporting relationships right? I guess it’s all about attitude – what you make of them and being grounded in love and a sense of the Holy as we serve. As the French say, “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose!” – “the more things change, the more they remain the same!"

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